To read: John Philip Duck by Patricia Polacco
"Based on the real-life tradition of the Hotel Peabody Ducks, the "New York Times" bestselling author pens a tale of how the famous duck march came about and made the hotel a Memphis landmark."
For those of you who may not be up-to-date on all of the strange American traditions, allow me to explain. A Brief History Lesson:
In 1933, the General Manager of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis returned from a hunting trip unsuccessfully one evening. He and his buddy put some ducks in the hotel fountain as a joke and went to bed. Come morning, a crowd had gathered--the absolutely loved the ducks. The bellman offered to train the ducks. A tradition had begun! The ducks now march down a royal red carpet to their fountain every morning at 11 and return to their palace on the roof of the hotel at 5. The Duckmaster escorts the ducks as they march to John Philip Sousa's King Gotton March. A crowd always gathers for this eccentric tradition.
All this to say, that on Monday, Dan and I were priviledged to be the Honorary Duck Masters for the day. This position is usually reserved for special people--like Elvis' daughter. The WMB does wonders. I guess you could say that we were quite the "lucky ducks."
"Based on the real-life tradition of the Hotel Peabody Ducks, the "New York Times" bestselling author pens a tale of how the famous duck march came about and made the hotel a Memphis landmark."
For those of you who may not be up-to-date on all of the strange American traditions, allow me to explain. A Brief History Lesson:
In 1933, the General Manager of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis returned from a hunting trip unsuccessfully one evening. He and his buddy put some ducks in the hotel fountain as a joke and went to bed. Come morning, a crowd had gathered--the absolutely loved the ducks. The bellman offered to train the ducks. A tradition had begun! The ducks now march down a royal red carpet to their fountain every morning at 11 and return to their palace on the roof of the hotel at 5. The Duckmaster escorts the ducks as they march to John Philip Sousa's King Gotton March. A crowd always gathers for this eccentric tradition.
All this to say, that on Monday, Dan and I were priviledged to be the Honorary Duck Masters for the day. This position is usually reserved for special people--like Elvis' daughter. The WMB does wonders. I guess you could say that we were quite the "lucky ducks."
